President Obama on statehood for DC: 'I'm for it'

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he supports statehood for the nation's capital.

Obama was asked Monday about the prospect of the District of Columbia becoming the 51st state during a town hall at a city school.

The president said, "I'm for it," adding that he has been "for quite some time."

Obama added that: "The politics of it end up being difficult to get through Congress, but I think it's absolutely the right thing to do."

Obama has previously spoken in favor of giving the District voting representation in Congress, and the White House has consistently supported giving the local government full control of the city's budget and laws.

Following his re-election in 2012, Obama added District license plates with the phrase "Taxation Without Representation" to his official vehicles.